PHOTOS: San Clemente Football Opens Season with Dominant Shutout of Oceanside

Photos by Alan Gibby/Zone57

Words by Zach Cavanagh

San Clemente football’s season opener on Friday, Aug. 20 was all Tritons with a coming out party for junior running back Blake Allen.

Allen ran for three touchdowns and 75 yards and caught three passes for 118 yards as the San Clemente defense brought the pressure all night long to shutout visiting Oceanside, 38-0.

Triton head coach Jaime Ortiz said that the preseason hype for the dynamic Allen wasn’t just hype, and that the San Clemente offensive line picked up from where it did last season in carving up running lanes up front.

Ortiz was also quick to mention that, despite its success, the San Clemente offense is still searching for consistency, as the Trtions would alternate between the long and effective scoring drives and three-and-outs.

On defense, Reese McDonald and Cole Robertson stood out from the aggressive San Clemente front that brought pressure off the edge and stifled the Pirates. McDonald recovered a fumble and Robertson racked up 12 tackles.

San Clemente (1-0) was scheduled to take on Torrey Pines on Friday, Aug. 27, but the Tritons announced on Monday that the trip down south was nixed, as Torrey Pines canceled the varsity and junior varsity games.

Instead, the Tritons announced on Tuesday that the team will travel to San Jacinto on Saturday, Aug. 28. San Jacinto opened its season last week with a win over Redlands East Valley, 48-21. San Jacinto was originally scheduled to play Long Beach Wilson on Saturday, but Wilson pulled out of the game on Tuesday due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program.

San Clemente returns to San Diego County next week at La Costa Canyon on Sept. 3.

Zach Cavanagh

Zach Cavanagh is the sports editor for Picket Fence Media. Zach is a multiple California Journalism Award winner and has covered sports in Orange County since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @ZachCav and follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SouthOCSports. Email at zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com.